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Samreen Ahmad · · 4 min readWhy Indian brands are hooked on the quick commerce craze
Revenue growth of 80x in 30 months – that’s what India’s The Health Factory has experienced since it first hit quick commerce platforms like Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and Zepto in 2022.
The brand, which sells bread, generates 6x more revenue from quick commerce than other retail channels, founder and CEO Vinay Maheshwari tells Tech in Asia.
Image credit: Timmy Loen
Quick commerce, which focuses on delivering goods to customers as quickly as possible – even within 15 minutes – has been booming in India.
Online brands in the country are increasingly teaming up with quick commerce platforms to tap into their network of dark stores and delivery fleets. The goal is to reach customers faster without the burden of heavy investments.
The strategy provides a testing ground for new products, opens access to previously untapped neighborhoods, and offers real-time insights to help players adjust to shifting consumer demand.
A new way of going offline?
Zepto says more than 300 direct-to-consumer brands launched on its platform between June and November 2024.
The company has a specialized team that provides one-on-one assistance when bringing new players on board, chief business officer Devendra Meel shares.
Zepto riders in India / Photo credit: Zepto
As for Swiggy Instamart, it says it has been onboarding around 10 new brands every month. A spokesperson from the company notes that many D2C players have scaled “aggressively” through its platform.
India logged 20 million quick commerce users in 2024. The number is expected to cross 60 million by 2029.
With such a large customer base, “it’s almost like going offline without the deep pockets,” says Twinkle Uppal, founder of D2C brand Hoop, which sells wellness products on Zepto.
“When we were starting Hoop, we were often asked, ‘How will you crack the consumer health category without going offline?’” she recalls.
Targeted distribution
Only for fast-moving goods?
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